"Playing Objectives" - FURTHER STUDY

"Playing Objectives"   

By Rena Cook
The Actor’s BIG question: “What do I want?”

• Acting is a process.
• It is a journey
• It must be traveled each time the actor prepares a new role
• Even for a new scene
• Acting is a thought process.

Two Questions We All Ask Oueselves As Actors

1. What does the actor think during rehearsals?
2. What does the actor think during performance?

Learning to act is learning a way of thinking, and how you perform is determined by what you think!

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HINT:

THINK ABOUT TRYING TO: 

- Use the play's environment, it can empower us to make stronger choices.

- Always revisit the given circumstances of the scene to see how they affect our moment-to-moment work and progression.

- Build characterization with self rehearsal and private homework to better performance behavior.

- Work on analysis tools, script scoring and paths to better research practice. 

- Play the scene many times to find the "truths" - that elusive aspect of getting out of ourselves and into our partners choices as well.

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Objectives

Or actions, intentions, goals, or needs, as they are also known--refer to an inner drive, something your character needs to do to, or wants to get from, another character. This drive causes the character to do and say things to get what he or she wants. Just as in life all our words and behaviors stem from what we want from the people around us, our characters are likewise driven by needs or objectives.

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In The Course Of A Play:

A character’s dramatic through-line is made up of behaviors that are propelled by need.

It must be an unbroken chain:

"I have this need,  I take this action, 

I watch for your response to see if I'm succeeding, I adjust based on your response,

I try again."

It is a continuous, unbroken thread that, as an actor, you recommit to each time you go to work.  

NOTE: Every moment of the performance, we--as characters--must be focused on achieving our objective.

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The minute we stop playing our objective,

we stop acting. It is that simple! 

It's Good For Us!

Playing an objective has the collateral benefit of releasing us from nerves and self- consciousness because we are no longer focusing on ourselves. 

Instead we are focused on:

1.) Our acting partner 
2.) How we are going to fulfill our objective. 
3.) Being creative 
4.) Being Spontaneous 
5.) Remaining open to our partner's influence